


Taking Off

by heyitsrah



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe???, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Married Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Moved abroad, No smut; sorry, OC main character, Romance, Set in the future, Sucky knowledge of figure skating, Their son's story, Young Love, family life, some comedy?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-20 13:04:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9492116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyitsrah/pseuds/heyitsrah
Summary: (A continuation of my fic 'The Longest Off-Season')Victor and Yuri's son Luka is now 16 and his skating career isn't exactly taking off! - He's got a sucky coach and awful rinkmates.When he fires his coach, Victor and Yuri decide to coach him themselves and help him reach his lifelong dream of making the junior national figure skating team in England, where they now live.However, they soon agree to also coach a girl whose dream matches Luka's, and Luka finds himself with a rinkmate, but could she also be his soulmate?And will they find themselves achieving their dreams? Will Luka prove his former rinkmates all wrong and show them that he's his famous fathers's son through and through?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You asked, therefore you shall receive!  
> I'm also working on a Victor Mpreg which a few people also asked for in my previous fic's comments, if you'd like to give that a read, too? :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The boy glided across the ice, the rink silent apart from the sound of blades across ice.

He executed a 3-turn and then took off into a double loop, but flubbed the landing and hit the ice with a sickening thud.

“Shit!” He hissed to himself.

That would cost him.

He could already see Elise shaking her head and sighing.

“Luka!”

Oh great.

He managed to get to his feet before one of his fathers – Yuri – came hurrying over.

“Dad! I’m in the middle of the program. What are you doing?” Luka groaned. “Get off the ice!”

“Actually, Luka, I think we’ve seen enough today.” His trainer and coach Elise said firmly.

“You want to get your arm looked at?” Yuri asked his son.

“No. Leave me alone!” The dark-haired boy shrugged his dad off and moodily replaced the skate guards back onto his blades before joining the rest of his rinkmates.

“Alright. I have the list of skaters who have made the team this year; we’ll start with the girls, and then the boys.” Elise announced.

The girls’ names were called out, and then when it came to the boys, Luka didn’t even bother to stick around.

“Where are you going?” Elise called.

“I didn’t make it, so what’s the point?” Luka scowled.

“You could at least respect the rest of your rinkmates. It’s called sportsmanship.”

“Oh yeah? Then maybe you should pass that memo onto them!” Luka snapped, “Where’s the preaching about good sportsmanship when they gang up on me, huh? When they laugh at me? Make fun of me? Call me names or deliberately sabotage my chances?”

Elise couldn’t answer that.

“That’s what I thought.” Luka shook his head. “They don’t deserve respect if they can’t give it to others.”

“This is a competitive sport, Luka.” Elise said, patronisingly.

“I’m aware of that! But where in the ‘good sportsmanship’ guide does it say that it’s perfectly fine to deliberately sabotage your rinkmates’ chances? Competitive or not? My fathers never went out to hurt anyone, and they were winners!” Luka pointed out. “I’m done with all of you. And Elise, you’re fired. I don’t want you coaching me.”

With that, Luka turned on his heel and picked up his skates, before spinning back round to face one of his rinkmates. “Oh, by the way, Alex…I’ll send you the medical bill for these.” He pointed to his injured and swollen ankle, and his busted elbow. “But for now, I’m happy to settle for this.”

He threw a punch into the other boy’s face, before hobbling away to where a stunned Yuri and Victor were waiting for him, speechless.

 

 

“Do you mind telling us what on _earth_ you think were doing back there?!” Victor demanded, folding his arms as they got ready to get into the car.

“I think I was firing my useless coach and punching a bully in the face. What did it look like?” Luka scowled.

“We moved to another country – again – so that you and your sister would have the best trainers and coaches in Europe. Do you have any idea how much this will cost us? Not only that, but the damage this will do to your reputation and your chances of making a national team?”

“Calm down babe, this isn’t like Luka. Yelling at him won’t help…I think there’s more to this than we think.” Yuri said gently, “Luka…Do you have an explanation?”

The boy looked down at the floor.

“He loaned me his skates because mine are getting too small. Well…I thought they looked new, but he told me they weren’t and that they were just well-looked-after. But they _were_ brand new, and the blade was too sharp. I couldn’t stop and I couldn’t land jumps properly.” Luka explained. “I thought Alex was my friend, but it turns out that he was just out to sabotage me.”

Victor looked furious.

“He could have seriously injured you!” He growled. “You should report him to Elise.”

“She’d never believe me. He’s her nephew.”

Yuri and Victor sighed.

“Disgusting.” Yuri shook his head. “Endangering someone like that on purpose.”

“I’m sorry Dads. I just wanted to be like you. I wanted you to be proud of me, but I can’t even make it past sectional level.” Luka’s eyes brimmed with tears. “And even then I came last.”

“We are proud of you.” Yuri put his arm around their son.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t get any further, you’re our son and we love you.” Victor added. “I’m sorry for shouting at you.”

“I’m sorry for being moody.” Luka sighed.

“It’s understandable.” Yuri shrugged. “Now, we have to pick up your sister from her dance class.”

Luka nodded and climbed into the back of the car, fastening his seatbelt.

He barely registered what his Dads were saying to each other as they drove along the quiet roads.

“Did you hear that, Luka?” Yuri’s voice cut through Luka’s thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Your dad and I were just saying…How do you feel about us coaching you?” Victor smiled.

Luka’s eyes widened. “You really mean it!? I thought you’d both retired!”

“I coached Yuri for a few years, and he was successful!” Victor pointed out, “And he taught a few skating classes in the off-seasons when you were younger. What do you say?”

Luka’s face lit up.

“Yes! I’d love that!”

“Great. You’ll be getting gold medals all the time, you’ll see. Your dad did wonders with me.” Yuri swooned, and Victor shot him a grin.

“Ew.” Luka said under his breath.

“I heard that!” Victor shot back. “You’re lucky that you have parents that are together and love each other.”

“You know, you’ll probably have a family of your own one day, Luka.” Yuri said, checking the rear-view mirror before flicking the indicator on.

Luka snorted. “Pfft. Yeah right. I’m married to my sport.”

“Take it from me, it gets old after a while.” Victor replied. “It gets lonely. Make time for friends, living, loving…”

Luka made gagging noises. “Friends and life? Fine. Love? As if.”

The car pulled up outside the dance hall, and a pretty platinum blonde girl tossed her long hair back and sauntered over to the car, pulling the door open.

“Hello Ami. How was ballet?” Victor asked as their adopted daughter fastened her seatbelt.

“Amazing as always, dad!” The girl grinned, her hazel-brown eyes shining with enthusiasm.

She turned to Luka. “How was practise?”

Luka made a noncommittal noise.

“Not good then?” Ami guessed.

“I fired Elise. She can coach the other losers at the rink.” Luka answered.

“Losers? Didn’t Alex, Freyja and Benjamin all rank first and second at sectionals?” Ami wrinkled her nose.

Victor shot her a look.

“Oh. Sorry…Um…” Ami had no idea what to say.

“Alex is the reason I have this bruise forming on my arm, busted ankles and feet and dented pride.” Luka sighed.

“I hope you did something? Told someone?”

“Punched him in the face.”

“Nice!” Ami laughed, but upon seeing Victor’s stern look, she stammered “W-what I mean is…That was wrong of you.”

Luka rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“You know, you remind me of Yurio when he was younger.” Yuri spoke up.

“Good.” Luka muttered. “Except I’m not gay.”

“So Ami, what did you cover today?” Yuri changed the subject.

“Oh! I meant to tell you! Miss Sylvie cast me as the lead role in Swan Lake.” Ami beamed.  “Princess Odette – The White Swan!”

“That’s fantastic, Ami!”

“Well done!”

“We had no doubt.” Luka smiled in spite of his own misery, slinging an arm around his sister. “I’m proud of you, baby sister!”

“Less of the ‘baby’!” Ami went red. “I’m thirteen!”

 

The car pulled up outside the family home, and parked on the drive.

Luka and Ami let themselves out of the car, pacing companionably to the door.

Ami raced up to her room; probably to call one of her friends.

Luka hovered in the hallway, looking unsure of what to do.

“Everything okay?” Yuri asked as their brown poodle Koko came skidding through the hallway and launched herself at Luka, almost knocking him over.

“OOOF! Uh…Yeah.” The teenager replied.

“That sounds convincing.” Yuri raised an eyebrow. “Come on, what’s wrong? You’re not sure about us coaching you, are you?”

“It’s not that.” Luka frowned. “I just…I need a new rink now. I have start right from the beginning. I’ll never make it anywhere.”

“Listen…You know our friend JJ? Jean-Jacques Leroy?”

“Yeah; what about him?”

“His parents were his coaches too, and he made it pretty far! He made it to Grand Prix Finals, Championships, Worlds…And you know how successful we were. Mostly thanks to your other dad, if I’m being honest.”

“I never knew he was coached by his parents!” Luka blinked in surprise.

“Oh yeah.” Yuri confirmed. “And as for a rink, we can use the one we work at.”

Victor and Yuri taught at an ice rink in London where they’d moved to nine years ago.

Yuri was still competing at that point and Victor had retired the pr3evious season when he was 34 – ten years ago.

He’d stayed on with Yuri until he’d retired at the age of 32, which was 8 years ago.

Yuri had moved his ‘home rink’ to London for his final year, and he and Victor had secured jobs there as skating teachers and choreographers.

They now had far more experience to be coaches, and Luka desperately needed one.

There was just one problem…

“Who will be my dance teacher? Elise used to combine the two; dance and skating.” Luka fretted.

At that moment, Ami sauntered into the room gracefully, texting on her phone.

“Ugh. That Tabitha really gets on my last nerve.” She sighed. “You won’t believe what she’s said this time…”

Ami trailed off as she noticed her brother and father staring at her.

“What?” She asked.

“I have a huge favour to ask you, oh great and brilliant one.” Luka hugged his sister.

“I’m not lending you money! I’m saving up my allowance for shopping on Saturday with Danielle.” Ami swished her stylish fringe out of her eyes.

“Actually…How would like to make some extra money?” Luka’s eyes gleamed.

“I’m listening.”

“Will you be my ballet instructor?”

“Wait, what!? I’m not qualified!”

“No, but you don’t need to be. You just need to be able to dance…And you do it oh so well my amazing, talented little sister!”

“Alright, fine! Just stop sucking up to me! It’s embarrassing.” Ami rolled her eyes.

“So…Is that a yes?” Luka pressed.

“Yes, fine. But you don’t need to pay me; I’m your sister.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Don’t worry about it.”

“THANK YOU!” Luka scooped up his sister into a bear hug, and she yelped in protest.

“Put your sister down, Luka.” Yuri laughed.

Once Ami was safely on the ground, she dramatically swung her hair over her shoulder.

“Yes, well…I’ll draw up a training programme for you first of all. How do Sundays sound?” She asked.

“Sounds good to me.” Luka nodded.

“Great. I’ll work on drawing up a programme right now. No offence, but you definitely need to work on your flexibility if you’re going to make it as a figure skater.” Ami folded her arms.

“Um…That thing between my legs…Kinda hurts when I stretch TOO much.” Luka said.

“Ew!” Ami grimaced. “Suck it up. Dads had to, right?” She looked at Yuri for confirmation.

“It’s true.” He nodded, pulling a face. “It kills at first, but you get used to it. Like with all your…muscles…”

“Exactly!” Ami nodded triumphantly, “And now they’re super flexible, right dad?”

“That’s right.”

“I remember like three years ago, I caught Dad V doing the splits with Dad Y one night in their room. He was so flexible! It must have hurt then though, ‘cause he was making all this noise. But he persevered I guess, which at his age is impressive. It was kind of sweet actually. You were behind him, holding him up.” Ami looked at Yuri who had gone red.

Luka folded his arms and leaned back against the sink, trying his hardest not to laugh.

“Anyway…My point is: we’ll have you being that flexible in no time!” Ami grinned and skipped off, back up to her room.

Luka stared at Yuri who was still beetroot in the face.

“You two uh…You weren’t practicing your gymnastic skills as such, I take it?” He asked, smirking.

“Um...No.”

Silence.

“Well, it’s getting late; I’d better get started on dinner.” Yuri cleared his throat, busying himself in the kitchen.

“Yeah.” Luka excused himself from the room, and almost collided with Victor, who had been making a fuss of Koko.

“Hey, kudos on your gymnastic skills, dad.” Luka snorted with laughter as he hobbled upstairs.

Victor frowned.

“What?”

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Luka? Are you paying attention?”

“Huh?” Luka had been too busy watching the scenery out of the car window, and hadn’t heard Victor speaking.

The Russian sighed.

“I said: are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Luka nodded.

It was the following Saturday, and Victor and Yuri had booked some time at their rink for them to train Luka.

He’d been here before, of course, but until now, he’d spent most of his time at his own home rink with Elise.

As Victor parked the car, Luka took a deep breath and got out.

Yuri gave him a reassuring smile as he handed Luka his skates.

The family walked through the doors of the rink, checking in at the front desk before heading out to the rinkside.

There was one girl there, who looked about Luka’s age, but nobody else.

“Has there been a double booking?” Yuri asked.

“It doesn’t matter; one person won’t take up too much space. They can work around each other.” Victor shrugged. “We had to back in Russia with multiple rinkmates.”

“That’s true.” Yuri nodded.

Luka took off his shoes and put on his skates, lacing them up.

He pulled his gloves on and headed out onto the ice.

He’d planned a routine, and had told his dads about it, so they agreed to watch and review it for him.

“I don’t have any music as of yet, obviously.” Luka said awkwardly. “But…”

“Just try your best without it.” Victor encouraged.

Luka nodded.

He stood in his starting pose, and then launched into his routine.

It started out feeling and looking quite angsty, but after his first jump – a double lutz – it all changed; the dynamic became increasingly upbeat.

His second jump was a double salchow, which he nailed.

Luka had included quite a tricky step sequence, but he executed it perfectly.

The third jump was an axel, which he landed.

As Luka worked through the rest of his program, he didn’t show any signs of tiring.

He nailed all of his elements; jumps, spins, combinations and sequences.

Taking his final pose at the end, he heard clapping.

Looking up, he spotted the girl applauding him; she’d moved over to the wall at some point, and had been watching Luka.

Luka smiled at her and blushed.

He skated over to his dads and awaited their verdict.

“It’s looking good.” Victor said, and Yuri nodded proudly. “But have you considered trying to make any of your jumps triples? Maybe throw in a quad for points?”

Luka paled.

“Um…” He swallowed.

“Come on, Luka.” Yuri said gently, “We know you can do it. We’ve seen you.”

“I always stuff up the landing lately though.” Luka pulled a face.

“Practice, practice, practice!” Victor said. “Don’t just stop because you think you can’t do something; work at it and you’ll get there.”

“Like I did with the quad flip at my second Grand Prix Final.” Yuri added.

“Exactly. Yuri pushed himself and he came away with silver.” Victor said.

“Silver?” Luka frowned.

“Well, my first GPF, I came last! I broke Victor’s world record, too.” Yuri went pink.

“No way!” Luka’s eyes widened.

“It’s true.” Victor confirmed, “I never did regain my title. Yuri kept hold of it and took home the gold right up until we retired…But it’s okay.” He smiled, putting his arm around Yuri. “It was all so worth it.”

They shared a small kiss, and then turned back to their son.

“So…Why not show us a triple?” Yuri asked. “Just to see if you can do it.”

“Okay.” Luka answered hesitantly, “A triple what?”

“Start out with a toe loop.”

“Uh huh…”

Luka skated back out to the centre of the ice again, and skated a small part of his routine just to get enough impulsion.

He took off from a 3-turn and landed the triple toe loop.

“Okay, now try an axel!” Victor called from the rinkside.

An axel was harder!

Luka groaned inwardly, but tried anyway.

As predicted, he stuffed up the landing and fell.

“I’m okay.” He heaved himself up again. “Just my pride dented.”

“Try it again.” Victor called.

Luka sighed, and on his second attempt, he landed it, but touched down.

The girl boldly skated over to Luka.

“Hi,” She smiled, “May I?”

“Uh sure, go ahead.” Luka moved aside and watched as the girl performed part of her very own routine, struck off, and perfected a triple axel with no complications.

She followed on with a quad lutz.

“Nice combination!” Victor shouted out. “That was beautiful.”

“Dad!” Luka hissed.

The girl giggled. “Sorry. I just wanted to demonstrate for you.” She said to Luka.

“I know how to do it.” Luka seethed. “The execution is just…elusive.”

“Well, if you ever need an extra helping hand…”

“Uh, do you know who my dads are?” Luka frowned. “I don’t NEED your help. You were showing off! So obviously you do recognise them! Are you spying on my routine to steal my moves and get ahead in the junior section of nationals?”

“Luka!” Yuri scolded.

The girl looked hurt. “I’m not a spy! I only wanted to help. If you’re planning on making junior nationals, you need to fix your attitude. Not just your skating!” She turned away and Luka felt his cheeks burn.

“We’re really sorry about him.” Yuri apologised.

“Are you okay?” Victor added.

“I’m fine, thank you.” The girl smiled politely, but her cracking voice said otherwise.

She made her way off the ice, took off her skates and flounced out through the double doors.

“Have you lost your mind as well as your manners!?” Victor told off their son. “That’s no way to speak to a lady!”

Luka scowled. “Oh please spare me! She was clearly showing off to you two!”

“I think, actually, she was showing off to YOU!” Victor raised an eyebrow. “She was trying to impress you. You know she’s been watching you this whole time? She’s obviously smitten.”

“Was.” Yuri corrected.

Luka was shamefaced.

“Yeah, well…Like I said…I’m married to my sport. Who needs girls?”

He turned away and tried again to land his jumps; this time, he landed it perfectly.

Once, twice, three times.

“Good.” Yuri said. “But I think we’ll call it a day for now.”

“We still have another twenty five minutes!” Luka protested.

“Oh, I don’t think so. You’re going to go outside and apologise to that girl.”

“Not happening.”

“Do as you’re told!” Victor said crossly.

“I don’t even know her!” Luka flung back.

“All the more reason why you should say you’re sorry to her. We didn’t raise you to be rude and hurtful to others. No more skating until you apologise to that poor girl.” Victor folded his arms, and Luka sighed crossly.

He made his way off the ice and threw his skates off, pulling on his trainers, before stomping out of the building.

 

 

Luka spotted the girl leaning against the wall outside, her eyes wet with tears.

Instantly, he felt bad.

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket, he wandered over and leaned against the wall next to her.

“Hey.” He said awkwardly.

The girl glared at him wordlessly.

“I’m sorry for what I said back in there. I had no right to accuse you or judge you when I don’t even know you.” Luka continued.

“No, you didn’t.” The girl said. “But thank you for apologising.”

There was an awkward silence.

“Um…I’m Luka. Luka Katsuki-Nikiforov.” He held out his hand.

The girl looked at him, her black and pink ombré hair blowing in the breeze, her green-blue eyes lined with black, and long, dark lashes piercing right into his soul, just about.

For a moment, he worried that she would dismiss him, but she gave a smile and shook his hand. “Esme Greenwood.” She introduced. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen. You?”

“Oh wow! Me too!”

“So are you on the GB national team, or the seniors, or…?”

“No.” Esme replied regretfully. “Neither. I wish though!”

“Me too.” Luka sighed. “Do you have a coach?”

Esme laughed. “Not a chance! My parents can’t afford it…They uh…They divorced.” She bit her lip, trying not to cry again.

“Oh. I’m really sorry.” Luka sympathised.

And then he had a brainwave…

“Would you LIKE a coach?” He asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, yes, but like I said, we can’t afford it…” Esme frowned.

“My dads are coaching me. And…Well, I don’t think they’d charge much, honestly. They could even defer your fee, maybe!” Luka grinned.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Esme hesitated. “I’d feel so dishonest.”

“No way! They’re really cool like that. Honestly; my Dad Victor – Dad V as my sister and I call him – well, he coached our other dad Yuri – Dad Y – and the first year, he deferred his coaching fee until after the season ended.” Luka persisted. “Besides, we’re pretty much made of money as it is. I’m sure they wouldn’t miss it.”

“Um…Well…If you’re sure? I’d pay them back somehow?” Esme’s eyes lit up.

“Sure! It can’t hurt to ask, right?” Luka grinned.

He took Esme’s hand and they ran inside, back to the rinkside.

“Dads?” Luka frowned.

“We’re on the ice, son!” Yuri called over.

He and Victor were pair skating, looking like they were completely enchanted by each other.

“Awww!” Esme smiled.

“Ew, more like.” Luka sighed. “Hey! When you two can tear yourselves away from being all mushy, Esme and I would like to ask you something.”

“It was his idea!” Esme insisted as Yuri and Victor glided over to the barrier.

“What’s that?” Victor asked.

Luka explained his idea whilst his dads listened carefully.

When he was done, the teenage boy stopped to take a breath.

“So…What do you think?” He asked.

Yuri and Victor looked at each other.

“Sounds good to me!” Victor smiled. “We can half your coaching fee if it helps, and then just pay it back when you can. Or instalments. Whatever is best for you.”

“Really?” Esme’s ocean-coloured eyes sparkled. “Oh thank you, thank you!”

She turned to face Luka and beamed at him.

“And thank YOU for the idea!” She pulled him into a hug.

Luka’s eyes widened in shock at first, but then he settled into it.

Esme’s hug felt warm and comforting, and she smelled of vanilla and a slight hint of cinnamon.

Yuri and Victor exchanged a knowing look, turning away back onto the ice.

“Uh, d-don’t mention it. It was nothing. By way of an apology for earlier, and um…Well, you’re so talented, you know?” Luka stammered.

Esme let him go and rewarded him with a bright smile.

Luka smiled back, feeling his insides turn to jelly.

“By the way, if you still wanted help to land a quad, I can help you.” Esme offered. “I’m not trying to be patronising, I swear; you’re talented enough to go far! I just think both of us could smash the competition in the upcoming season if we both qualify for either junior or senior ladies’ and men’s singles, and if we get our base stats up.”

“Really? You think?”

“Why not!? This’ll be so great. Thank you Luka…I can’t wait to be your teammate and your rinkmate!” Esme hugged him again, and Luka turned to mush.

“Me neither.” He chuckled nervously.

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey! Ready to dance?” Ami grinned at her brother, appearing in his bedroom doorway.

Luka sighed.

“I guess.” He answered, grabbing his bag and following her downstairs.

Ami had been allowed to use her usual dance studio out of hours, and entrusted with making sure it was looked after.

“Miss Sylvie is trusting me.” Ami warned as they headed towards the bus stop. “So don’t make a mess, break anything or move anything…”

“Okay, okay!” Luka rolled his eyes.

The bus turned up and they showed the driver their passes before being welcomed aboard.

Flopping down into the back seats, Luka and Ami chatted as the bus drove them to the stop just by the dance studio.

Upon arriving, Ami unlocked the doors and switched the lights on.

“First things first: We need to work on your posture.” Ami tied up her hair and promptly slapped Luka’s chin upwards with the back of her hand. “Stand straight.”

“Bossy!”

“I’m sorry, who’s the teacher?”

“You’re loving this already aren’t you?” Luka groaned. “You don’t have to hit me.”

“You think that hurt? You wait. Your muscles will be screaming by the time I’m done with you.” Ami folded her arms. “Now, stand straight and let’s see how flexible you actually are.”

She walked towards the bar attached to the mirrored wall and gripped it with one hand.

Expertly, she raised one leg and balanced it on the bar, leaning forward and extending an arm to touch her toes.

“You expect me to do that?” Luka scoffed. “Um…”

“Look, I’m sure your little soldier will be fine.” Ami sighed. “I highly doubt you have that much to worry about.”

Luka shot her an angry look.

“Actually I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly endowed for my age!” He said.

“Ew!” Ami pulled a face. “Just shut up. _Please!_ And get stretching.”

Luka tried his best; he got his leg high enough, no problem, but his thigh muscles protested as he leaned forward to touch his toes.

Ami had completed her barre exercises and was shaking her head, arms folded.

“Pitiful.”

“I told you.” Luka sighed.

“Okay, well we need to teach you basic barre exercises. One day a week is not going to be enough if you want to be ready in time. What days are Dads having you practice at the rink?” Ami asked.

“Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.” Luka replied.

“Hmm…So Monday or Wednesday, then.” Ami mused.

“Hey! I need _some_ time to myself!” Luka protested.

“And you’ll get it. We won’t dance all day. I have school!” Ami laughed. “It’ll only be 90 minutes.”

“That’s…Kind of a long time.” Luka frowned. “An hour and a half!”

“You’ll need it. Trust me.” Ami shrugged, “So, what can you do so far?”

Luka gave her a blank look.

“Ballet-wise.” Ami clarified.

“Oh…I never actually did ballet.” Luka confessed, “I did contemporary, modern, jazz…”

Ami rolled her eyes. “No wonder you’re not that flexible!” She criticised. “Well, contemporary requires flexibility, but ballet is what you really need to be super-flexible.”

“Why do I need to be super-flexible?” Luka frowned, stretching and warming up. “I’m flexible enough for figure skating.”

“Yes, but you want to really wow them, right?” Ami raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

“Hmmm I do, but it doesn’t really work like that. We aren’t scored on flexibility. We’re scored on our elements…Jumps, sequences, combinations…That sort of thing.”

“I know that. But Dads are taking care of that, and I can take care of helping you really perfect your program. At least the movements. That’s why we’re doing this. You want a beautiful routine, don’t you?”

“Actually I want a routine that shows everyone the real me.” Luka confessed. “I’ve always had to perform whatever my coach told me to do…They’d choreograph it and I’d skate it. Maybe the reason I screw up so much is because my heart was never really in it.”

Ami looked shocked. “You could be right! I never thought of it like that.” She thought for a moment. “Tell you what; why don’t you show me – on the ground – what you can do? And then we can choreograph together a program that suits you perfectly!”

“I already have started on a program, but there’s so much missing. It doesn’t have much…Well, anything.” Luka said. “The elements, I have down. Dads liked my routine, but…It’s just not got…”

“Much pizzazz?” Ami grinned.

“Basically.”

“Fine, you win. No ballet. What would _you_ like to do?”

Luka thought for a moment and then a slow smile crept up onto his face. “Call me crazy,” he started, “But I think some form of ballroom. Something fast-paced and exciting. Like a single Samba or something!” He laughed.

“Ballroom on Ice?” Ami was laughing too. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. Ballroom is really for two dancers. Have you not considered pair skating?”

She was half-joking, but Luka’s eyes widened suddenly.

“Ami! You’re a genius!” He pulled his sister into a hug. “That’s exactly what I’ll do!”

“You don’t have a partner.” Ami frowned, “I’m no ice skater, so don’t even think about…”

“Actually, I _do_ have someone to be my partner! If she’s okay with it, that is.” Luka answered.

Ami blinked at him in surprise.

“You have a girlfriend?! Since when?”

“No, no! Not a girlfriend!” Luka spluttered, “I told you; I don’t have time for all that. I did meet a girl at the rink yesterday though.”

“Wait, is she the one Dads are also coaching?”

“That’s her! Esme.”

“Oooooh! Luka and Esme! Or should I call you Lesme? Or Euka?...Or Lume!?” Ami fell about laughing and Luka rolled his eyes, scowling.

“Shut up, shrimp!”

“Mr ‘I’m Married To Skating’ has a girlfriend! That’s so cute.” Ami squealed.

Luka rolled his eyes and groaned. “She’s not my girlfriend.” He repeated. “I’ll call her and ask her to come down here now.”

“You do that.” Ami grinned impishly.

 

..

 

“I’m here!” A voice rang out twenty minutes later. “This is the right place, right?”

“Yeah, we’re in here, Esme!” Luka called back as he hurried to meet her in the foyer.

The second he saw her, he gulped.

Her black and pink hair was tied back in a wavy ponytail, and she was wearing tight-fitting yoga pants with a leotard underneath as she pulled off her outdoor jacket.

“Uh…If-if you just follow me…” Luka blushed, turning away quickly as he led the girl through to the dance studio.

“Wow! This is bigger than my dance studio!” Esme gasped, looking around.

“Esme, this is my sister Ami. Ami, this is Esme; my new rinkmate.” Luka introduced.

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard lots about you!” Ami smiled politely, casting a mischievous look at her older brother.

“Oh, really?” Esme raised an eyebrow and giggled. “Nothing bad I hope?”

“Not at all! In fact, I think my brother has something he’d like to ask you.” Ami threw Luka right under the bus, and he blinked in shock.

“Oh?” Esme’s face lit up as her gaze returned to Luka, who was opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish.

“Uh…Um…Y-yeah. Actually, I was going to ask if you’d like to…” He broke off, looking at Ami, who gave him a nod of encouragement. “…To be my pair skate partner? So…So we can pair skate. Instead of just singles. How…Um…What do you think of that?” He stammered eventually.

The smile froze on Esme’s face.

“Ah. Well…Honestly, I don’t think that’s such a great idea. I think we’d better stick to singles, at least on the ice. Sorry. But thank you for asking.” She replied. “Was that all?”

Ami frowned at Esme and then shot a worried glance at Luka.

“Well it wouldn’t have been all if you’d accepted, but…You know. It’s okay. I respect your decision.” Luka forced a smile onto his face.

“Yeah, I was going to help you guys choreograph.” Ami added quietly, folding her arms.

“Oh. I’m really sorry.” Esme responded, looking guilty. “It’s just that…”

Luka shook his head and held his hand up. “It’s okay. You don’t need to explain to me.”

“But I think I should, because I haven’t really explained that well so far, and…”

“Actually, I’m not feeling so good. Sorry Ami. I’ll see you at home and we can carry on with the choreographing on Wednesday. Bye, girls. I’ll get one of our Dads to pick you up, Ami.” Luka picked up his bag and raced for the door, pausing only long enough to pluck his coat from the hanger.

 

The cold air hit him as he pounded down the drive, heading for the bus stop.

He steadied his breathing as he waited for the bus.

“Luka! Wait!”

At the sound of Ami’s voice, he raced off again towards the next bus stop; he’d have to catch it from there.

He made it just in time and scrambled aboard, only just remembering to show the driver his pass.

Luka flopped down in one of the front seats and let out an audible sigh, wiping his eyes.

“Are you okay dear?” An old lady asked kindly, leaning across the aisle from her seat.

“Yes, thank you. Sorry.” Luka smiled weakly. “Just trained too hard. I’m fine, thanks.”

The lady looked uncertain but decided to let it go.

 

As soon as he got home, Luka let himself in and ran upstairs to his room, throwing himself onto his bed.

“Luka? What is going on? Why did you leave Ami by herself?” Victor demanded, appearing in Luka’s bedroom doorway, arms folded.

“Sorry. I…I don’t feel good. I had to get out right away.” Luka lied.

“Well she just called here. She’s with Esme…Yuri has just gone to fetch both of them. Why did you abandon two young ladies like that? This is London, Luka! It’s not exactly safe for two teenage girls to travel that distance on their own.” Victor fumed. “Especially your own sister!”

“Look, leave me alone, okay!? I said I’m not feeling well! Go away!” Luka kicked the door shut in his Dad’s face.

It opened again a second later and Victor walked into the room this time.

“I know what happened, Luka.” He said, sitting on the bed. “Esme shot you down, didn’t she?”

“Wha-? How did you…? Oh never mind, of course Ami blabbed! Little Miss Perfect.” Luka snorted.

“I know you’ve gone through some stuff lately, but this behaviour and the aggression are getting too much! Perhaps you’re hormonal, I don’t know. I can’t remember being sixteen…”

“Yeah, I can tell!”

“Rudeness won’t get you anywhere Luka. If you carry on acting out, then you can forget us coaching you and you can forget skating altogether! Behaving like a brat is no way to go about things. And if you close that door in my face again, or abandon your sister in the middle of London again, not only will you be banned from skating, but you’ll be grounded. Time to grow up, Luka. You’re not in school anymore.” Victor stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door loudly behind him.

“Asshole.” Luka cursed under his breath. “Who even cares? It’s not like I’ll ever get anywhere anyway.”

He rolled onto his front and buried his face in his pillow.

 

Minutes later, he heard his other dad’s car pull up in the driveway, and the front door being opened.

For a minute, he was worried that Ami and Yuri had invited Esme back, and he’d have to face her, but thankfully, he was in the clear.

‘Is it any wonder she wouldn’t be your pairs partner?’ A voice in his mind sneered, ‘you’re a mess. You can’t do anything right. What girl would date a loser?’

“Shut up!” Luka hissed, squeezing his eyes shut, shaking his head as if that would somehow shake the thoughts out.

‘Why don’t you just give up skating anyway before they can stop you? You’re no good at it. How many failed attempts will it take to prove that?’

“Shut UP!” Luka growled again.

‘Can’t handle the truth, can you?’ The voice mocked.

“OH FUCK OFF!” Luka swore, getting to his feet and racing to the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

He ran the cold tap and ran his hand under it, splashing icy water onto his face and his head.

“Luka? Are you alright?” Ami called on the other side of the door.

“No.” He replied hoarsely.

After a few moments, he walked out of the bathroom, and found the rest of his family gathered on the landing.

“What?” He frowned.

“You really are sick, aren’t you?” Victor took a step closer to him. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I shouldn’t have shouted at you like that. Forget what I said about being banned from skating; I shouldn’t have said that. I just assumed...Anyway, I’m sorry.”

“But I’m not…” But Luka broke off.

His mind was telling him to go along with it; it would save another argument.

“It’s fine.” He said instead. “I’d just like to go to bed.”

“Can we get you anything?” Yuri asked worriedly.

Luka shook his head. “No thank you. I just want to be on my own.”

He re-entered his room and slipped into his bed.

He felt terrible for lying like that; he wasn’t a liar!

What was going on?!

Yuri came in a minute later.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything, but I brought you some cold water from the filter in the fridge.” He said gently. “So what’s wrong?”

Before Luka could fabricate an elaborate tale of sickness or whatever, he was already blurting out the truth;

“My head is the problem. It’s like it’s having an argument with itself. Telling me I’m no good, a loser, a failure, nobody will ever like me or want me because of it…It was driving me crazy. It hurts. I have a literal headache and it won’t stop!” He was getting mildly hysterical now.

Yuri stared at him in horror for a moment, before hugging his son tightly.

“Oh god, this is all my fault.” He whispered.

“How is it your…?”

“Luka,” Yuri interrupted, “You mustn’t pay attention to what it’s telling you, okay? You’re NOT a loser or a failure, and you are loved. We love you. Whatever your head is telling you, it’s all lies.”

The teenager shrugged. “I dunno.”

“I know.” Yuri smiled tightly. “But sadly, I also know that repeatedly telling you all these things over and over doesn’t make it better. It doesn’t make it go away…I know, because I have it. Anxiety disorder.”

Luka blinked in surprise. “You? But…Dad, you’re a winner! You’re famous for winning a heap of skating competitions all over the world! So are you and Dad V. You’re legends in figure skating!”

Yuri hummed. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m not affected by mental illness. When I was in my early twenties, I competed in my very first Grand Prix Final…Your other dad was there; already dominating the entire thing, of course! As was expected! Well, I totally bombed. I came in last, and I humiliated myself in front of every skater I looked up to. Especially your father.”

“No way!”

“Yes way. Thankfully, he didn’t see me as a failure. Actually, at the banquet, I got drunk and…”

“I’m familiar with the story.” Luka chuckled. “You were hammered, asked Dad to be your coach, then started dancing and challenging everyone to dance-offs, then made out in the hallway! And the rest is history. You were WILD!”

Yuri turned red. “Ahem. Yes, well…I didn’t really want to be at that banquet, to be honest. My former coach sort of made me go along, thinking it would cheer me up.”

“But coming last aside…Why were you so miserable?” Luka asked.

“Our family dog died,” Yuri responded sadly. “Victor. Or Vicchan as we nicknamed him…Yes, I was a fanboy of your father, and yes I named our dog after him!”

Luka laughed at this. “Wow, that’s kind of lame but cute at the same time.”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “Anyway, Vicchan passed away and I hadn’t been back home to Hasetsu in years, so I couldn’t even say goodbye. I felt a tremendous amount of guilt and heartbreak over it, and then I was so nervous about competing in such a huge competition that I started comfort eating, put on a little weight, and…Well. Everything got too much. I fell, flubbed my jumps and just epically failed.”

“But the next time, you came second!”

“Yep, and then first for the next five years after that.”

“Hmm…”

“Anyway, mental illness doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing great in life or not, or how much fame and money you have; it targets you without any warning. It’s not always triggered by something bad happening either. Mine was, but some people have no answer for why they got ill. They just did…And that’s what it is; an illness.” Yuri took a breath. “If you don’t want me to, I won’t tell Victor. But I do think we need to get this diagnosed.”

“Okay.” Luka nodded slowly.

“But don’t give up, Luka, okay? Take it from me. Giving up something you love won’t make you any happier, and it doesn’t keep anxiety at bay, either. It’ll just find something else to target. You can’t let it win. It needs tackling head-on. You’re far too talented to give up…And I don’t just mean skating, either.” Yuri said knowingly.

Luka looked at him.

“What?”

“Ami told me that Esme turned you down for pair skating.” Yuri whispered.

Luka paled. “Why is she telling everyone!?” He seethed.

“Hey, hey…No, it wasn’t like that. She’s not blabbing, she was worried about you. But did you let Esme tell you why she turned a pair skate down?” Yuri asked.

“She said she didn’t think it was a good idea and that we should stick to singles…”

“As I heard it, she said ‘we should stick to singles, _at least on the ice’_.”

“Yeah?” Luka frowned.

“You don’t get it?” Yuri asked.

“What is there to get? She doesn’t want to pair skate.”

“But she confessed to Ami that she turned you down because if you were to go out, it might make things awkward if anything happened.”

“Wait…What?” Luka swallowed.

Yuri was smiling now. “She likes you. A lot! She was hoping you’d ask her out, but instead you asked her if she’d be your pair skate partner. She turned you down in favour of being able to be your girlfriend one day. She said that if things didn’t work out, it might affect you professionally, too. That’s why she wanted to stick to singles _on the ice_.”

Luka stared at his father, eyes wide. “So…Like…She likes me?”

Yuri nodded. “She confessed all to Ami, and Ami promised to try and get you both to talk again. PROPERLY.”

“But Esme _likes_ me? She likes _me_!?”

“Yes.”

Luka didn’t say anything.

What was there to say?

“You look very happy about that for someone who’s ‘married to their sport’.” Yuri teased, grinning.

“Shut up.” Luka smiled, covering his face with the duvet.

Yuri stood up and went to leave the room. “I’ll book you an appointment to see a mental health specialist, okay?”

Luka nodded. “Okay. Thanks. And you can tell Dad if you want. I don’t mind.”

Yuri winked at his son and closed the door behind him.

 

 

 

 


End file.
